Monday Morning Jane

By CJP | April 27, 2009

Good morning, Janes!  It’s Monday, April 27th, day 98 of the Obama administration, and day 36 of Candy Spelling’s book tour for “Stories from Candyland.”

Here’s what’s happening in Washington, on CJP, and around the world.  Come back to  CJP this week for updates to the ”White House Watch” section, an important message from Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and anything else you need for your friends to say as you leave the table, “Why aren’t we that smart?” 

Top Domestic Story:  Sooooweeeeee!  The Swine Flu, the nasty virus with a scary name, has infected 20 people in America and more than 1600 in Mexico, Spain, New Zealand and elsewhere.  The U.S. government declared a “public health emergency,” but added that there’s no absolutely, positively reason to panic.  [USA Today]

Top International Story:  Ostensibly to avoid a pandemic, a European Union official has issued a warning to avoid all non-urgent travel to areas hit by the Swine Flu…..including the U.S.!  A CJP note to Europeans:  Come on over, we feel fine.  [BBC]

Sen. Dianne Feinstien, the top Dem on the Intelligence Committee, has called for a full Congressional investigation into the treatment of detainees at American prisons, but wants people to take the rhetoric down a notch.  “We need to find these things out and we need to do it in a way that’s calm and deliberative and professional.”  [CNN]

“The New York Times” has a massive piece on Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, including links to his daily schedule, with the implication that Geithner was too close to the club when it came to regulating Wall Street.  If we have an hour to read the whole thing, we’ll tell you how it is, but in the meantime, read it for yourselves HERE.

The Salt Police have arrived in New York, where Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his health department are meeting with foodmakers and restaurant owners to reduce the amount of salt in foods like soup, bread and pasta.   As long as this doesn’t affect chocolate-covered pretzels, we’re fine with it.  [AP via Washington Times]

As reporters of all stripes evaluate President Obama’s first 100 days, CJP’s Patricia Murphy has done the same for NBC’s Chuck Todd over at Politics Daily.  His obsessed fans, the “Chuckolytes,” give him high marks, and might even give us the creeps if they weren’t all so friendly and otherwise normal.

This feels like rewarding bad behavior, but we pass it along because we’re apparently not immune to sinister media plots.  [US Magazine]

Topics: Morning Jane

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